The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for U.S. broker-dealers, has received sweeping recommendations to overhaul its enforcement efforts, including modifications to its due process and “Wells process” practices, as a result of an effort “to better serve our self-regulatory mission,” officials say. “Last year, as part of FINRA Forward, FINRA engaged… Read More >>
Should the SEC Run the CAT System?
A major industry player — the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) — is pushing for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) to be under the control of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In an odd twist, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for broker-dealers, is in general agreement with… Read More >>
The CAT System Faces Scrutiny Again
The controversial Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) will remain under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission even though the SEC recently finalized a set of cost-savings and related measures intended as ways to control the big data surveillance system. The regulator also implemented exemptive relief from certain requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934…. Read More >>
FINRA Launches a Portal to Mitigate Cybersecurity Threats
As Shakespeare noted in Henry IV, Part 1, discretion is the better part of valor, which, translated, means it’s better to be safe than sorry. This is especially true when it comes to cybersecurity protections. Major geopolitical events have been making financial services firms anxious about an acceleration in cyberattacks. In response, the Financial Industry… Read More >>
Key Subcommittee to Mull Big Changes for FINRA & MSRB
The role of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (SROs) — particularly the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — is being re-examined via a Congressional hearing set up by the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, an extension of the House Financial Services Committee. The subcommittee hearing, set for Thursday, March 5, has a title that seems to say it… Read More >>
Financial Markets Are Seeing Fewer New Investors
New investors are entering traditional financial markets at a significantly slower pace than just four years ago, according to new research from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, and detailed in a report, “Investors in the United States: Results from the FINRA Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study [NFCS].” But young investors are not necessarily running to… Read More >>
FINRA Reminds Firms of ACATS’s Improvements
Self-regulatory organization FINRA recently reminded securities firms that the National Securities Clearing Corp. (NSCC) has modified the transfer process for its Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS), established in 1985 to facilitate “the smooth and electronic transfer of assets, like stocks, bonds, and cash, from one brokerage firm or bank to another,” according to the… Read More >>
SEC Cuts Costs for SROs Supporting the CAT System
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted “exemptive relief “to the self-regulatory organizations (SROs) that are essentially underwriting the operating costs of the consolidated audit trail (CAT). The ambitious big data CAT system got its start in 2012 in the wake of the Flash Crash of 2010. That event spurred demand for a U.S. securities… Read More >>
tZERO Petitions CFTC for DCO & DCM Status
Blockchain fintech provider tZERO Group is petitioning the U.S. derivatives regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to become both a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) and a Designated Contract Market (DCM). The move aims to position tZERO as a one-stop shop for compliant issuance, regulatory oversight, trading, and clearing within the digital asset ecosystem. A… Read More >>
FINRA Criticized for $50M Rebate to Its Members
The Board of Governors of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has been criticized for approving a $50 million rebate to FINRA members rather than distributing the windfall to investors who have won arbitration awards against members of the self-regulatory organization (SRO) but have not been paid. The organization crying foul is the Public Investors… Read More >>
